“Do not allow the body to be moved. There will be an inquest on it, but search every hole and corner of the room for any papers, and should you see any, give them into no hands but mine.”
The search which took place was the most energetic and active that could possibly be made; but it was, of course, quite unsuccessful; so after a full hour being spent in it, Sir Francis Hartleton most reluctantly turned towards the corpse, saying to his men—
“You are not afraid of a dead body? The papers I spoke to you about are most important, and as they may be about him, I wish you to search the pockets.”
Hardened as those men were, and callous to most scenes of horror, they approached the remains of Gray with evident reluctance, and made a brief search of his pockets. Nothing was found but a small sum of money and a wedge-shaped steel instrument, which was then commonly used by housebreakers to wrench open doors with.
“There are no papers here, sir,” said the men.
Sir Francis Hartleton turned from the room with a look of great disappointment. He entertained now not a moment’s doubt, but that the object of Learmont’s murder of Gray was to get possession of the packet addressed to him, Sir Francis, and there was every reason to believe that in that object the squire had succeeded.
“Ada’s name and birth,” thought Hartleton, “seem ever doomed to remain mysterious—well, she may still be happy, and as for Learmont and Britton, they must, at all events, expiate this crime upon the scaffold if it is brought home to them.”
Full of these mingled reflections, Sir Francis hurried back to his house, and sought the room in which sat poor Albert Seyton, melancholy and solitary for he could not make up his mind whether his tale, truthful as it was, was believed by the magistrate or not; and when Sir Francis appeared again before him, he rose, with a saddened countenance to hear what he had to say to him.
“Mr. Seyton,” said Hartleton, “what you have told me has been confirmed, as far as it could be, by the parties in the house I have been to; but tell me now how it was that you, after communicating to me the singular facts you did concerning this Ada, stayed away from me so long?”
“I called upon you, sir,” said Albert, “and not seeing you, I fancied you had cooled upon the matter. The squire Learmont had prejudiced me against you, representing you as cold and selfish.”